Top-ranked QB Trent Seaborn checks out Clemson

Seaborn (middle) poses with Riley (L) and Boyd (R).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Feb 13 14:11:42 GMT-04:00 2024

The nation’s top-ranked quarterback for the 2027 recruiting cycle recently spent time on Clemson’s campus, and he is interested in continuing to build a relationship with Garrett Riley and the Tiger coaching staff.

Trent Seaborn is out of the same Alabaster (AL) Thompson High School that produced current Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound Seaborn was MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year after throwing for 2,601 yards and 27 touchdowns in leading his team to the state title game. Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Nebraska are among his early offers.

Seaborn was able to visit Clemson back in January.

“It was a great experience. The facilities are top notch, and they spent all day with my family showing us around,” Seaborn told TigerNet. “What stood out to me was how much of a family their program is with each other. When we got there, it was during a time when a lot of coaches were already out recruiting on the road. But they were all still on campus to hold their team banquet with all the players, coaches, and families. I thought that it was pretty special that they prioritized their team family like that. I know that kind of stuff helps strengthen bonds.”

Seaborn said Riley, Clemson’s offensive coordinator, had a simple message.

“Coach Riley was real up front with me about wanting to build on this relationship, and I think that’s great,” Seaborn said. “That’s what I’m focused on at this stage of my recruiting - getting to know coaches, building relationships so that when I get to the point where I’m ready to make a decision, I kind of have a clear idea of the coaches in a place where I will be committing.”

Despite all of the early offers, Seaborn said he understands why a Clemson offer will have to wait.

“Oh yes. Absolutely. And I respect them for it,” he said. “Coach Dabo (Swinney) has a process and program in place and that’s part of how they go about the recruiting, and I totally understand it. The early offers are great but really, they’re mostly just a pat on the back and an indication I’m on the right path in a coach’s eyes. For me, what’s more important is to develop relationships, which is what I’ll be doing with Coach Riley, Coach (Tajh) Boyd, and Coach Dabo as we go forward.”

Seaborn was able to spend time with Woods and get a feel for what Woods thinks about Clemson.

“Peter and I were teammates at Thompson High School his senior year, my 8th grade year. He’s balling at Clemson, we all knew he would, he’s just different,” Seaborn said. “Peter just told me that the coaches really made him feel like family, and they truly care about you as a person at Clemson. I can see that just from my spending time with those coaches. He also said that our program at Thompson is similar in how disciplined and structured they are at Clemson and that being at Thompson really prepared him for that experience at Clemson.”

He said he’s unsure about what his schedule looks like for the rest of the spring, but Seaborn said making a return trip to Clemson this summer might be in the works.

“I’m not exactly sure which places I will visit this spring. My work with my team keeps me pretty busy,” he said. “We put in a lot of work and winning a state championship is the expectation we have for ourselves at Thompson. We came up short this year. So that work takes priority. But I definitely have Clemson as a place I want to visit this spring or summer.”